Netflix, Dark Knight, and Jib Jab

I always thought that Netflix was a poor investment for me. My current strategy for watching DVD's is to buy them when they're on sale at Best Buy, for bargain prices, watch them, and then sell them on Ebay for close to the same price I bought them for. This has worked semi-successfully. But lately I've found a few flaws. The Sopranos, The Wire, and several other shows never go on sale, and even if they do, they're STILL out of my price range. And as for movies, I'm frankly just too lazy to make two trips to the video store (to pick it up, and to return it). I live in an on-demand society, and I like to keep my list of errands as short as possible.

So, here I am, about to join the legions who enjoy the benefits of mail-order DVDs. I have to believe that this industry is single-handedly bringing the postal service back from the brink of starvation. All the hand-written mail they lost when e-mail was invented? They're starting to make their cash back now that everyone is sending all of their video through the mail. And I'm happy to join the movement.

So, should I go with Blockbuster or Netflix? I've investigated the possibilities, and I think I'm settled on Netflix. My sainted mother has tried both and said that delivery times were not as good for her with Blockbuster. Plus, X-Box announced this week that Netflix's entire online library will be available THROUGH the X-Box Live service (which I already subscribe to), at no extra charge, to people who already subscribe to Netflix.

However, if any of you think that I need to be talked back from this dangerous precipice of mail-order television, or want to give me a pitch on why I should go with the Blockbuster service instead, the floor is open to you. Via the comments.

Next Subject. The Dark Knight this weekend. I'm supposed to go with friends on Saturday, but even THAT sounds a little frightening to me because I hate crowds, and I live in fear of having to watch a movie I'm eagerly anticipating from the front row of the theater. It hasn't happened for a long time. The last movie I had to watch from the front row of the theater was the second Pierce Brosnan 007 movie, whichever one that one was. But it still sucked.

I want to here recommend you some "summer reading" if you intend to truly enjoy the Batman-Joker experience. First of all, the granddaddy of them all, and the book that Heath Ledger himself professed to reading to try and grasp his role as the Joker, is "The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore. The perfect blend of sadism and insanity, and what the story truly explores is how Batman and Joker could be seen as two sides of the same coin... a couple of guys who both just lost it after having a really bad day.

Second, if you've never read Frank Miller's "Dark Knight Returns", this is probably the most terrifying Joker you'll ever read. The disrespect for human life borders on the dispassionate villains of "Wanted" (the book, NOT the movie), and Miller's futuristic tale also shows the bizarre nature of Batman and Joker's continual rivalry.

Two other books you might check out are Grant Morrison's "Batman: Arkham Asylum", the twisted thriller that built out the Joker's psychosis where Moore had left off with his origin. And "A Death In The Family", in which the Joker kills off Jason Todd, the second Robin, is the book that most heavily leaves Batman with the question of whether he should just terminate the Joker once and for all instead of consistently making the moral choice to put him back in jail instead of killing him.

I leave you with the latest JibJab entertainment, poking fun at this year's election. If you've never seen a JibJab animation, you're in for a treat.